Video-Editing for Dummies!

November 23, 2009 1:39 PM

I'd like to make a presumably simple video in the style of a series of opening credits for a tv show. What's my cheapest way to do it, and how?

I am attempting to make a short video for friends, and my idea is to have a 1-minute video playing and at 4 points during the video, a photo appears in the center of the video, with the friend's name underneath.
Each pic appears briefly, disappears (or twirls or shrinks, whatever - doesn't need to be anything special)... and then the next pic appears, until all 4 are done. It's kind of like a series of badly done opening credits.

Before I go ahead and purchase Premiere Elements, is there another easier or cheaper method to do this very thing, and if so, can you give very basic instructions? The only media I will be using will be the video clip and 4 image files to be placed within the video as it plays.

I use a PC primarily, but also have a MacBook Pro, so if iMovie can do this, I'd be happy, but I don't see the option as I played with the program. I'd prefer a PC solution, or a platform agnostic solution.

posted by newfers to computers & internet (3 comments total)

You can totally do that with iMovie. I think they regularly juggle the interface around and I haven't used it in a couple years/versions, but that has been a regular feature, I think, since it was first released. So I don't know where you need to look. But as I recall it's pretty simple to add still pictures and/or text titles and animate them with your pick from a suite of transitions and effects.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 1:57 PM on November 23, 2009

Really? Perhaps I need to look at the older version of iMovie as well, as I remember reading that the newest iMovie dumbed the program down a little too much (not enough for me, apparently...duh!)
posted by newfers at 2:00 PM on November 23, 2009

Jeez, I found how to do it... just had to enable "Advanced features" in iMovie, and from there it was a cinch... thanks so much!
posted by newfers at 6:29 PM on November 23, 2009